~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~ Ginny at small things

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Good morning … have you started back to school yet? We won’t start till dh’s high school goes full-time: Monday, August 26th … which is perfect as I’m still gathering books and ideas and plans for the school year!

We’ll be working on a study of the Middle Ages this year — I always do the kids together for history (and a few other subjects) so that we can maximize the fact that we homeschool and work in field trips and read-alouds and projects that feed into our history study. So, the Middle Ages it is!

Here are a few of the books we’ll be using for helping the kids “own” the Middle Ages and understand that it was more than a time “of knights and fair maidens”:

• For our spine we’ll be using a couple of books: reading from The Middle Ages by Dorothy Mills, a narrative that spans the Early Middle Ages, setting the stage for the uproars and advancements of the middle-Middle Ages, including discussion of life and pasttimes and science and technology and all real-learning type of stuff. We’ll use Susan Wise Bauer’s The Story of the World Activity Book Two: The Middle Ages for projects, map-work, read-aloud suggestions, etc. I don’t think Bauer’s text book is that robust, but I do love her activity books!
• For dictation, memorization and just plain fun, we’ll be using Flowers of Heaven: One Thousand Years of Christian Verse, a book compiled by Joseph Pearce. This book is perfect as it’s set up chronologically, starting with St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) and working through the Catholic martyrs of the 1500s and ending up with modern Christian philosophers/writers. Because it doesn’t start until the 12th century, we’ll have time to lay the foundation of the early Middle Ages, pulling words from the early doctors and saints of the Church.
• Another book we’ll use to supplement … and one that is only $.99 on Kindle … is the Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John Haaren. To help focus us and ensure that we catch all the info we need, I’ve also purchased the Famous Men of the Middle Ages Study Guide – I buy the teacher’s guide only since we do these kind of books to lead discussion and quiz orally rather than as written assignments (obviating the need for student books).

On the knitting needles: I’ve just started a baby-gift for one of my favorite nieces; her second is due in November so I’m designing a “my first baby doll” for the little munchkin. It’s rather fun to play with this kind of design as it’s such a small piece that I can experiment and test ideas without having to rip out too very much (and I can use left-over yarns to make something really special).

Aren’t the colors pretty — they’re all Kraemer’s Summit Hill – a superwash wool (so easy-care) that is no longer being produced (just a minute … I have to cry a bit … ok, I’m better now).

I finished the shawl I was making in Trendsetter’s Ascot (pictures of the final shawl are held until I hear from the yarn-company re: whether they want to purchase the design outright or have me self-publish) which came out amazingly well … and I also designed/knit a shawlette in Spring Gate Farm’s cashmere-silk-merino blend. I call this one The Ebbing Tide — doesn’t it look like the beach at low-tide with the ripples in the sand catching a bit of the ocean as the tide moves out? Fun, huh and it drapes so nicely in that fiber-blend …